e d i t [ a t ] s h i n y s h i n y n e w . c o m

June 12, 2012August 10, 2012

Label Watch – S//S//N talks to I OH YOU

Hey Johann, starting at the start, what’s the story behind I OH YOU?

Hey bro. We started I OH YOU because my housemates and I (who are I OH YOU) needed to pay an overdue gas bill so we threw a house party, which went really well. We kept throwing parties and eventually started a label because we wanted to try and impress girls (this didn’t work). The label started going well so I made it my fulltime job.

Bleeding Knees club and DZ Deathrays, two of I OH YOUS early signings, have done really well in the UK as well as Australia making your success rate, especially as a young start up, pretty amazing. How do you go about picking new bands and what role do you play in getting them noticed?

Bleeding Knees Club and DZ Deathrays were our friends but we just trust our guts, there’s a number of different things which add up to make a good band and we just look for those things. We’re pretty hands on with our bands and actively work to get them the recognition we believe they deserve.

Now that I OH YOU’s branching out into various fields how do you see the identity of the label changing, is it still going to be about gigs and records or might the creative side start to take over?

I don’t really know, we just do what feels natural to be honest.

What gets you more exited, throwing a massive party or releasing a record?

Parts of both excite and frustrate me. There’s nothing better than hearing that people have enjoyed your work, whether that be a party or record.

Why do you think Australia’s got so good at producing new talent, it seems that now, when you compare it with 5 years ago, we’re hearing a lot more of Aus than we used to?

I’m not sure to be honest but fuck there’s so much awesome shit going on right now. Twerps, Chet Faker, Last Dinosaurs etc…it’s great to see and I believe that creativity builds more creativity and with that in mind I think we’re in for a great time!

What’s your favorite release of 2012 so far?

I don’t want to mention our own releases here so I’m going to say Chet Fakers EP, buy that shit.

What one song would you add to our summer playlist?

Tiny Dancer by Elton John

What new things can we look forward to from I OH YOU in the next few months?

We’re signing a couple new bands and throwing some parties. We’ll probably write some inappropriate status updates on Facebook along the way.

Dz Deathrays play Reading & Leeds this summer, head over to I OH YOU’s Facebook to find out more about what they’ve been up to.